New Policy On Car Chases In Place For Guilford County Deputies

The Guilford County Sheriff's Office has implemented a new policy for how deputies handle police chases. 

The procedural changes stem from a pursuit nearly two years ago that ended in a crash causing the deaths of five people. 

The News and Record reports that under the new policy, deputies are forbidden from pursuing suspects over nonviolent misdemeanors, such as shoplifting. The Battleground Avenue pursuit in September of 2017 came following a report of a stolen vehicle.

Sheriff Danny Rogers now says that a chase is justified for serious crimes, or if a person is considered violent.

The new policy, which was implemented in May, has drawn praise from the families of two women killed as a result of the 2017 chase, which reached speeds upwards of 130 miles per hour.

A wrongful death suit was filed against former Sheriff BJ Barnes and the deputy involved in the crash. The suit was dismissed earlier this year without prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs have one year to refile.